Generally speaking, it is desirable for structural members to have maximum mechanical strength and minimum weight, and this is equally applicable to small and to large structures.
To this end, proposals have been made to make such members from threads of various materials which are assembled by being interwoven and which are often embedded in a hardened resin.
The object of the invention is to provide a method capable of assembling thread-like elements in configurations that give rise to members having high mechanical strength and capable of taking full advantage of the intrinsic qualities of fibers which have recently become available such as carbon fibers, "kevlar" fibers, glass fibers, etc.
The object of the invention is more particularly to provide a method capable of covering elongate elements or cores (which may be thread-like or strip-like and made of glass fibers, carbon fibers or analogous fibers) with helically-wound threads, e.g. made of glass fibers, and with the dispositions of the cores and of the windings being chosen at will as a function of the desired structural characteristics, thereby providing industry with members better able than before to satisfy conditions of mechanical strength, of lightness, and of compactness as desired in many applications.
In machines for braiding or stranding, the threads are drawn from a plurality of spools which are rotatably mounted about their axes, and which up to now have been fixed in position relative to one another.